During my sister’s 5 week stay, we had some good times.  Apart from spending the holidays with the whole family, we had lots of fun and exciting adventures.  We worked on a few home improvement projects including assembling and installing a linen closet and bathroom shelf.  We spent an afternoon installing a carpet runner on the stairs going to the second floor since it was hardwood and slippery. 

We did some hardcore clothes shopping at the outlets and the other malls in the area.  And during our free time, we made and delivered DVDs of our holiday festivities to our family, got our hair done, trained my cats to do some tricks, and ate left-overs for nearly every meal.  The only bad part of the whole time was that Aroe was sick and we were worried that he wasn’t going to make it.  He seems to be doing fine now.  Here are some of the highlights from the past months:

The boys in their new amped up play room.  Thank you, Lala & Jacob!!

Visiting our cousin Danny in Champaign, IL for a weekend of reconnecting:

Shopping date and having a sleep-over at Uncle Justin’s (& Uncle Sunny’s)batchelor pad in Ann Arbor:

carbing up at CPK before justin’s sponsored shopping spree

experiencing pinkberry for the first time.  there were no complaints!

Watching Uncle Justin’s IM basketball game:

First-Ever Family Bowling Night with Grams:

Just hanging out with the fam:

daily lotion time

“paw” trick

wearing a part of harabuhgee’s hat collection!

Memories that will last a long time.  🙂

Knowing myself to be incredibly nostalgic, I am tempted to feel discouraged about this move. An analogy that has continued to emerge in my mind is that of a plant that has generously spread out its roots over the course of some incredibly significant and important years. But the time had come for the plant to be pulled from the soil. It’s as though each of our roots have been removed one by one, in rapid succession, from this life. I have been much too aware of the many “lasts” that we have had to face recently. We experienced our last U.P. fall. I distinctly recall mowing the lawn and thinking about how this was the last time. The boys had their last trip to Portage Hospital to see Dr. Rajanee. I stopped by to drop off mail at our Chassell post office and chatted with the post lady for the last time. We had our teeth cleaned for the last time by Dr. Richards. We had our last Sabbath here in Houghton. Our snow plow guys came for the last time. We had our last Thanksgiving. I just now heard a pack of coyotes howling, perhaps for the last time. We attended our last Yooper Task Force meeting. Our trash pick-up man, Greg, came to our house to pick up our trash for the last time. This past Tuesday morning, we loaded up all of our belongings in the conference semi-truck and they left the U.P. at last.  And tonight, we had our last family evening worship in this home.  We spent it sharing special memories that we’ve spent here.  For the boys, it mainly involved swimming and biking and playing with their friends.  🙂

Now the family is asleep on the floor of an empty house and when we wake up, it will be our last day before we leave the U.P.  I never imagined it would be this hard to move. I never thought I’d make such strong attachments to a place and a church family. But I praise the Lord for this thing called faith. Faith has helped me remember that when He calls us to move, it is always to something better to bring us to someplace higher in our experience. As in the words of a rad Christian artist, “God’s gonna do a new thang”. I feel as though I am being uprooted, but by faith, I know it is to new soil that will enable me and my family to grow.  I also realized that it is time for a new pastor to come in and minister to our churches in a way that we never could.  It goes both ways.  As Christians, we get potted and re-potted several times. Otherwise, our growth will get stunted or we may even die. So, beyond the tears and heartache and lost memories, I can look with hope to the future. It is hard to imagine a better place for our boys to grow up, but I trust that God has a master plan. I know He is preparing us to bring us home, to our final destination, where we can grow indefinitely in the earth made new.

Intently watching all of our belongings being loaded into the truck.

Big Mac & our moving crew on Tuesday, November 29th, 2011.  It was done in 3 hours.

What the last couple of days in the Yoop looked like.

Last day with Grandma Karen – one of the main reasons why leaving is so hard.

Tomorrow morning, once we cross Big Mac, we will officially turn from being Yoopers to Trolls.  That’s basically like changing our citizenship.  Please pray that we aren’t too affected by culture shock.     

Tomorrow, Micah will be turning 4!  We can’t believe it.  He has grown so much and has brought such joy to our home.  He is such a special son to us and is undoubtedly Manu’s best friend.  He is also a sweet big brother to Ty.  We had originally thought we would be moved into a new home downstate, but alas, we are still here in a box-filled home.  But we still wanted to do something special…and I think we’re gonna get him good. 

Here is a conversation we had earlier in the car today between me and the boys:

Manu:  Mama, I ripped my card for Micah!  It looks horrible now!  When it’s someone’s birthday, everyone needs to get them a card, and if I don’t have a card for him, it won’t be good.  Micah won’t be happy.

Me:  Manu, don’t worry, we can make another card.  I’ll help you.  Plus, Micah won’t mind if you don’t give him a card.  He just wants you to be a good friend and brother and to play togeth–

Micah:  I WANT A CARD!  I WANT A CARD FOR MY BIRTHDAY!  I DO WANT A CARD!

Me:  Micah, I’m sure Manu will make you a card, but a card isn’t what will make your birthday special.  If you do get something, you should just feel thankful and be sure to say thank you to them–

Ty:  THANK YOU, MAMA!

Me:  Your welcome, Ty.  Micah, do you understand what I mean?  A birthday isn’t a time to expect gifts, but if people do, that’s like a special treat–

Micah:  I WANT A CARD!  Hey, it’s almost Sabbath and I don’t have any presents for my birthday!

Manu:  Mama, did we even get Micah any presents?!

Me:  Well, we’ll see what happens.

Manu:  See Mama, that is why I need to have a card for Micah!

Well, all of them will be in for a surprise. 

After we had worship and put the boys down for bed on this final night that Micah will be 3, Israel and I had some fun preparing a surprise for all the boys in the morning.  We had a helium tank that refused to run out.  We literally used that little tank for every single holiday and birthday since Manu turned 4.  Anyway, since we are moving, I decided to blow up balloons until the helium ran out so we could get rid of the tank.  And Israel decided he would be in charge of the balloon decor. 

We wrapped presents for Micah and some presents for him to share with his two best friends in the whole world, his brothers.  I think we will have some excited little boys tomorrow morning.

Balloon decorator extraordinaire.  I feel so proud.

By the time he got to the kitchen, he kinda got burned out after doing the living room balloon arch.  Even the 3 pets were disappointed.

Looking forward to tomorrow!  It will be a happy Sabbath in our happy home, indeed.

One of the most magnificent occurrences found in all of nature is seasonal change.  After living in the U.P, my favorite season has become Fall. 

When I was an undergrad at Michigan, my best friend Alice bought me a poster, undoubtedly from the major poster sale that goes on in the beginning of every school year.  It has always hung somewhere in my home through all these years.  It shows a series of diverse autumn leaves and the text reads:  change…to give up what we are…to become what we could be.  I couldn’t agree more.

The fall is amazing up here.  There is nothing quite like breathing the crisp, fresh air and to see the stunning transformation of the landscape.  It is a constant reminder of death, but the good kind:  as we die to ourselves, He turns us into something beautiful.  I love the contradiction between how desperately we need change, and how thankful we ought to be that God changes not. 

Here are some pics from a Color Tour at Mt. Ripley. 

Grandma Karen & Manu

We made it to the top!

Micah was excited to see the bridge.

I’m going to miss it here.

I’ll end with Israel’s favorite verse to sing during this time of year:

Change and decay in all around I see;
Oh Thou who changest not, abide with me!

In 1981, the year I was born, the following major events took place:

– Prince Charles marries Princess Diana
– 5 men are diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia…later to be understood that these were the first US cases of AIDS
– the first launch of the Space Shuttle, Columbia
– first modern suicide bomb in Beirut:  car bomb kills 61 people outside the Iraqi Embassy
– MTV is launched
– IBM releases its first of what is called the Personal Computer – the PC

From then until now, so much has changed.  Prince Charles became a widower following the tragic death of his wife.  AIDS has become a world-wide epidemic with over a million people in the US alone living with HIV.  The final Space Shuttle mission ended this year with Atlantis returned to the Kennedy Space Center concluding a historic 30 year legacy of space exploration.  Suicide bombing  has become a near daily occurrence in the Middle East and the US is slowly following suit.  MTV has gained enough popularity to impact the social climate of the country and the world.  The revolutionary Steve Jobs, who changed the very culture of computer technology, passed away yesterday. 

And as one chapter closes, another one begins. 

Amid the gradual shifting of society, the real question is: Who have I become these thirty years?  The ambitious, the passionate, and the fearless will undoubtedly become famous and make the greatest impact in societal trends.  I like to believe that when I look back at my life, I’ve made some sort of mark in this world – maybe a small footprint, but a footprint nonetheless.  Our generation has always wanted to stand out, to be different.  Honestly, I would have loved to make it into history books for revolutionizing the educational system or for becoming a great abolitionist for child sex slavery.  It would give me great pride to be the one responsible for ending world hunger or shutting down all puppy mills.  But I’ve come to realize one thing.  It goes back to my initial question.  It’s not really about what I’ve done, but who I’ve become. 

Humanity is constantly changing as knowledge increases and lifestyles evolve.  But I’ve come to realize that in this fluid landscape, one thing remains true:  God is still desperately trying to save our souls.  He is competing with the ever-changing world to win our attention and our hearts.  Looking back, I can say that my greatest breakthroughs, the historical markers in my life’s journey, can be traced back to simple lessons of faith from the human experience.  Though seemingly unimportant and trivial to society, they have been the very fibers that made up who I am.  How we treat others, what job we take, how often we pray, who we marry, how we raise our children, if we are faithful to Him…these are the issues that matter to God because they determine who we will ultimately become.  His Mission is unmoved regardless of how much we know, how styles have changed, and how technology has advanced.  The question He asks is:  What can I do to bring My child Home?

I am shocked to see what has happened in our world during my lifetime.  But I can tell you with greatest sincerity that I am more moved by how Jesus has been my unchanging Rock these thirty years. 

I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be in another world;
but still I am not what I once used to be,
and by the grace of God I am what I am.
-John Newton              

I’ve had an extraordinary thirtieth birthday full of happiness, laughter, surprises, and tears of joy.  I thank the Lord for my family, loved ones, and a heavenly hope amidst this sin-darkened world.  And I’m so thankful that He’s still in it to change me.